Water-supply regulator for windmills.



Patented May 8, I900.

No. 648,988. I

LA VERNE W. NOYES. WATER SUPPLY REGULATOR FUR W!NDMILLS.

(Application filed Nov. 14, 1898.)

(No Model.)

NITED STATES LA VERNE w. NOYES, or CHICAGO, ILLINOIS;

WATER-SUPPLY REGULATbR FOR WlNDMlLL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 648,988, dated May s,190(5-.

Application filed November 14, 1898. Serial No. 696,372. on model.)

To all whom it iii/Cay concern.-

Be it known that I, LA VERNE W. Novas, acitizen of the United States,residing at Ohicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Water-Supply Regulatorsfor Windmills, of which the following is a full, clear,concise, andexact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings,forming a part of this specification.

My invention relates to a water-supply regulator for windmills, myobject being to provide an improved form of regulator adapted to becontrolled by the height of the water in the tank or reservoir to throwthe windmill into and out of gear, and thereby regulate thewater-supply, the special object of thepresent invention being toprovide means whereby the windmill will be thrown completely into andout of operation and will not be left in any intermediate position,whereby the objections attendant upon the employment of regulators whichthrow the windmill into and out of the wind gradually may be obviated.

In accordance with the present invention I provide an element or memberadapted to be moved in one direction through the agency of motionderived from the windmill, a furling device being provided which islocked in position during the employment of said member and until themember nears the end of its travel, when it releasesthe furling device,and thereby causes the mill to be thrown out of the wind, the furlingdevice partaking of sufficient movement to throw the mill completely outof action. Independent means, such as a weight, is provided for movingthe member in the opposite direction to carry with it the furlingdevice, thereby throwing the mill completely into operation, the releaseof the member being accomplished through the agency of the float in thetank. The member above referred to may be connected with the windmill toreceive motion therefrom in any desired manner. For instance, it may beconnected through mechanical means with some reciprocating or movingpart of the windmill itself, or it may receive motion through hydraulicpressure derived from the movement of the water during the action of thepump driven by the windmill.-

In the present application I have specifically illustrated and describeda form of regulator wherein the movement of the member is accomplishedmeehanically-that is, by connecting the actuating parts with some movingpart of the mill, such as the piston-rod.

In a companion case filed of even date herewith, Serial No. 700,630%, Ihave described a construction wherein the movement is secured throughthe agency of the pressure of the water supplied by the pump driven bythe windmill, the control thus being hydraulic in its nature asdistinguished from mechanical .control, and in said application I havein- 7 sorted claims to this specific embodiment of my invention, whilein the present applica tion I have inserted generic claims to cover bothforms of the invention and also specific claims drawn to cover theembodiment of my invention wherein the control is accomplished throughmechanical means.

In the preferred form of my invention, as

illustrated herein, I provide for the moving member a ratchet-bar whichis moved in one direction by a dog adapted to be reciprocated byconnection with a moving part of the mill, the ratchet-bar being movedin the opposite direction by means of a weight or similar device, themovement of the bar being controlled by a regulating or controllinglever which is responsive to the movement of the float in the tankorreservoir.

I have illustratedmy invention in the accompanying drawings, in which-Figure 1 is a perspective view of the regulator of my invention. Fig. 2is a sectional view thereof. Fig. 3 is a View showing thecontrolling-lever of the regulator in its alternative position. Fig. atis a view of the regulator looking from the side opposite tothat shownin Fig. 3. Fig. 5 is a front view of the regulator. Fig. 6 is asectional view on line 6 6, Fig. 5.

Like letters refer to like parts in the several figures.

The standard a of the regulator is mounted upon any suitable support andis arranged to permit the ratchet-bar b to move vertically therethrough.The ratchet-bar carries at the lower end a rod 0, between which and theratchet-bara spring 0 is interposed,a weight 0 being suspended from therod 0 to move the ICO ratchet-bar b downward when released, the springeserving to take up the jar due to the inertia of the weight. The face ofthe bar I) is provided with ratchet-teeth,with which an actuating-dog dis adapted to engage, the dog cl being pivoted at cl upon a casting djournaled to rotate about the pivot (Z carried upon the base or standarda. A red cl is secured to the casting (Z and is connected by means ofthe wire or red d with some reciprocating part of the millas, forinstance, the pump-rod-whereby during'the operation of the mill the rod(1 and the casting (Z are rocked upon the pivot (1 thus reciprocatingthe dog cl and moving the ratchet-bar I) upward step by step. Formedintegral with the dog dis an arm (Z carrying upon the end a weight (1 soplaced as to serve to yieldingly hold the dog (1 in engagement with theratchetteeth. The weight (Z carries a lug d adapted to line within thespace between the arms e e of the lever e, which is pivoted upon thestandard at 6 the lever carrying upon the end a weight 6'. lVhen thelever eis rocked to the left, Figs. 1 and 2, arm 6' engages lug (l tocarry the weight to the left and bring the dog (Z into engagement withthe ratchetbar, and when lever e is rocked to the right the arm 6thereof engages lug d and throws the weight to the right to carry thedog out of engagement with the ratehetbar. In order to prevent thebackward movement of the ratchet-bar, a detent or pawl f is provided,which is journaled upon the pin or pivot 6 and the face of the pawlfcarries a slot f within which a lug or projection (Z on the hub of thelever eis adapted to move. When the lever c is rocked to the right, thelug d" engages the lower wall of the slot f thereby rocking pawl f tocarry the same out of engagement with the ratchet-bar, and when thelever e is rocked to the left again the pawlf is rocked into engagementwith the ratchetbar through the agency of the weight j", which is formedintegral with the lower end of said pawl f. The pawl f carries aweighted portion f to yieldingly hold the same in engagement with theratchet-bar. The lever e is connected by a rope h or other connectionwith the float h in the tank, whereby the ascent or descent of the floatrocks the lever to and fro.

Through an opening in the upper end of the ratchet-bar b the furling-rodg is adapted to pass, said rod carrying at the lower end anarrow-pointed portion 9, which constitutes a laterally-extending portionadapted to engage with the lug a provided upon the base a. Upon theratchet-bar is carried an oblique wall 11 which when the ratchet-barnears the upper end of its travel engages the oblique end of thefurling-rod g to move the same laterally out of engagement with the luga At the upper end of the t'urling-rod g is secured the furling-wirewhich extends upward and is connected with the furling mechanism of themill.

The regulator is in the present instance illustrated in connection witha mill requiring a downward pull upon the furling-rod to carry the millinto the wind, the mill moving out of the wind automatically when thefurling-rod is released and permitted to move upward.

The operation of the regulator is as follows: Assuming that the mill isin operation and that the float is in an intermediate positionthat is,between the extreme upper and lower positionsthe parts of the regulatorwill occupy the positions illustrated in Fig. 1. The weight (I rests inposition to hold the dog (Z out of engagement with the ratchet-bar, andas the rod (Z moves up and down the dog dis reciprocated withoutimparting movement to the ratchet-bar. The ratchet-bar is at the lowerend of its travel and the arrow-pointed end g of the furling-rod g is inengagement with the lug a the mill being thus held in the wind. As thefloat it rises the lever e is permitted to rock to the left, due to theweight 6, and the arm e of said lever, through its e11- gagement withthe lug (Z moves the weight (Z to the left until said weight is carriedpast the pivot about which the same rocks, when the weight (1 moves tothe left, as shown in Fig. 3, carrying the dog cl into engagement withthe ratchet-bar, so that, as the rod (1 moves up and down the dog (1 isreciprocated to move the ratchet-bar upward step by step.

The movement of the lever e to the left also moves the pawl f intoengagement with the ratchet-bar, due to the coaction of the lug d andthe slot f, so that the backward movement of the ratchet-bar isprevented by the pawl f. During this upward movement of the ratchet-barthe furling-rod g isheld down, due to the engagement of thearrow-pointed end g and the lug a As the ratchet-bar approachesthe upperend of its travel the oblique wall b thereon engages the arrow-pointedend g, shifting the same laterally and releasing the same from the lug aThe furling-rod 9 being thus released is moved upward, thereby throwingthe mill completely out of operation, the arrow-pointed end 9 beingstopped at the upper end of the ratchetbar, as shown in dotted lines.The mill is thus thrown out of operation. As the waterlevel in the tankfalls toward the lower predetermined level the descent of the float hrocks the lever 6 upon its pivot, and the e11- gagement of the arm cwith the lug d moves the weight (1 to the right, Figs. 1 and 2, to carrydog d out of engagement with the ratchet-bar. The further movement ofthe lever e to the right carries pawl f out of engagement with theratchet-bar, thereby releasing the ratchet-bar and permitting the sameto fall, the weight 0 being sufficient to exert the required forcenecessary to move the furl-rod g downward and throw the mill into thewind. The descent of the ratchetbar and the weight carries thefurling-rod g downward until the arrow-pointed end thereof engages withthe lug 04 the furling-rodbeing thus held in this position until duringthe ascent of the ratchet-bar the oblique wall I) comes in engagementwith the end of said furling-rod to move the same out of engagement withthe lug, and thereby throw the mill out of the wind again.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secureby Letters Patent, is

1. In a water-supply regulator for windmills, a reciprocating partarranged to be moved in one direction by motion derived from theoperation of the windmill, a part connected with the furling device ofthe windmill normally locked in position and released by saidreciprocating part at a prearranged point in the travel thereof, meansfor returning the said parts to the initial positions, a tank orreservoir, and a float for controlling the movement of saidreciprocating part, substantially as described.

2. In a water-supply regulator for windmills, a reciprocating part,mechanism deriving motion from the operation of the windmill for movingthe same in one direction, a tank orreservoir, a float for throwing-saidmechanism into operation, a part connected with the furling device ofthe windmill normally locked in position and released by saidreciprocating part during the travel thereof, a lock for holding saidreciprocating part in the new position to which the same is moved, andmeans, as a weight, controlled by said float for returning saidreciprocating part to the initial position,substantially as described.

3. In a water-supply regulator for windmills, the combination with amovable member, of means for moving the same in one direction by. motionderived through the operation of the windmill, a part connected with thefurling device of the windmill. and locked during such movement of saidmember and released thereby at a predetermined point in the travelthereof, means, as a weight, for moving said member and said furlingdevice to the initial position, a tank or reservoir, and a controller,asa float, responsive to the change of level in the reservoir forcontrolling the movement of said member, substantially as described.

at. In a water-supply regulator for windmills, the combination with amovable member, of means for moving the same in one direct-ion by motionderived through the operation of the windmill, a part connected with thefurling device of the windmill and locked during such movement of saidmember and released thereby at a predetermined point in the travelthereof, means, as a weight, for moving said member and said furlingdevice to the initial position, a lock for holding said member in theposition to which the same is moved by the operation of said windmill, atank or reservoir, and a controller, as a float, responsive to thechange of level in the reservoir for releasing said lock, substantiallyas described.

5. In a water-supply regulator for windmills, the combination with amovable member, of means for moving the same in one direction by motionderived through the operation of the windmill, a tank or reservoir, afloat or other device responsive to the change of level in the reservoirarranged to throw said means into operation as the float approaches itsupper limit, a part connected with the furl device of the windmill andlocked during such movement of said member and released at apredetermined point in the travel thereof, means, as a weight, formoving said member and the part connected with the furl device to theinitial position, said float being arranged to release said weight toeffect said movement as the float approaches its lower limit,substantially as described.

6. In a water-supply regulator for windmills, the combination with aratchet-bar, of an actuating-dog for moving the same in one directionand deriving motion from a moving part of the windmill, a part connectedwith the furling device of the windmill and locked during such movementof said ratchet-barand a float, responsive to the change of level in inone direction and deriving motion from a' moving part of the mill, apawl for preventing the backward movement of the ratchetbar, a partconnected with the furling device of a windmill and locked during suchadvance movement of the ratchet-bar and released near the end of thetravel thereof, a tank or reservoir, and a controller, as a float,responsive to the change of level in the reservoir for moving said pawland actuating-dog into and out of engagement with the ratchet-bar,substantially as described.

8. In a water-supply regulator for windmills, the combination with aratchet-bar, of an actuating-dog reciprocated by a moving part of thewindmill to move the ratchet-bar in one direction, a part connected withthe furling device of the windmill and locked during such movement ofsaid ratchet-bar and released near the end of the travel thereof, achecking-pawl, a tank or reservoir, a control ler, as a float,responsive to the change of level in the reservoir for moving saidactuatingdog and pawl into and out of engagement with the ratchet-bar,and means for returning the ratchet-bar to the initial position,substantially as described.

9. The combination with the ratchet-bar, of

the reciprocating dog operated by the windmill, the pawl, thecontrolling-lever, for movin g said dog and pawl into and out of engagement with the ratchet-bar, a furl-rod moved in one direction withsaid ratchet-bar, a lock for holding the furl-rod during the movement ofsaid ratchet-bar in one direction and means carried by said ratchet-barfor releasing said furl-rod as the ratchet-bar approaches the end of itstravel, substantially as described.

10. The combination with the reciprocating ratchet-bar, of the actuatingdog and the pawl,the arrow-pointed furl-rod moved downward with saidratchet-bar, the lateral extension or lug on the standard for holdingsaid furl-rod in its lower position, and the oblique side wall on theratchet-bar for moving said furl-rod out of engagement with said lateralextension or lug, substantially as described.

11. In a water-supply regulator for windmills, a ratchet-bar, meansoperated by the windmill for moving the same in one direction step bystep, a part connected with the furling device of the windmill locked inposition during such travel of the ratchet-bar and released thereby at aprearranged point in the travel of said ratchet-bar, and means forreturning the ratchet-bar to the initial position, substantially asdescribed.

12. In a water-supply regulator for windmills, a ratchet-bar, meansoperated by the windmill for moving the ratchet-bar in one directionstep by step, a part connected with the furling device of the windmilllocked in position during such travel of the ratchet-bar and releasedthereby at a prearranged point in the travel of said ratchet-bar, meansfor returning the ratchet-bar to the initial position, a tank orreservoir, and a float for controlling the movement of the ratchet-bar,substantially as described.

13. In a water-supply regulator for windmills, the combination with apart connected with the furling device of a windmill and arranged tothrow the mill into or out of the wind according as the same is moved inone direction or the other, said part being normally locked at one endof the travel thereof and arranged when released to move abruptly to theother end of the travel thereof, a mov- 5o ing member deriving motionfrom the operation of the windmill and arranged to move relatively tosaid part and to move gradually from one end of the travel to the other,and arranged to release said part near the end of the advance travel ofsaid moving member, and means for returning said part and said movingmember to the initial positions thereof, substantially as described.

14. In a water-supply regulator for windmills, the combination with apart connected with the furling device of a windmill, of a lock forholding the same at one end of the travel thereof, a moving memberderiving motion from the windmill and arranged to release said part nearthe end of the travel of said member, and means for returning said partand said moving member to the initial positions thereof, substantiallyas described.

15. In a water-supply regulator for windmills, the combination with apart connected with the furling device of a windmill and having twopositions of rest, one to hold the windmill in the wind and the other tohold the windmill out of the wind, amoving memher, means for moving saidmember in one direction by energy derived from the operation of thewindmill, means independent of the operation of the windmill for movingsaid member in the opposite direction, means 8o controlled by themovement of said moving member for causing said part to move abruptlyfrom one position to the other, a tank or reservoir and a float or othercontroller therein for controlling the time of movement 8 5 of saidmovable member, substantially as described.

In witness whereof I have hereunto subscribed my name in the presence oftwo witnesses.

LA VERNE W. NOYES. 'Witncsses:

W. CLYDE J ONES, M. R. ROCHFORD.

